


Silver Fire

by WinterOblivion



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-02-28
Packaged: 2018-01-13 18:39:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1236892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterOblivion/pseuds/WinterOblivion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Secrets are not meant to be told. Pasts are meant to stay in the past. Sometimes things don't go as planned and when that happens trouble arises. When you involve Roy Mustang, two unknowns and the Elric Brothers, trouble comes with a capital T.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Exam Day

**Author's Note:**

> My co-author and myself, are trying to stay within the Fullmetal Alchemist series original timeline. So characters that die in the original series, will still die in this fanfic. Also please note that this fanfic takes on major character's point of views, there is not just one point of view throughout. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

"So tell me again brother, why are we in central?"

"Because I want to see what these new comers got going for them."

"You just want to prove you're number one." said Alphonse irritated.

"If you say so Al. All I want is to  see what they got. We keep losing alchemist like flies, we need good ones to replace them."

As the two brothers approached the entry into the testing grounds, a familiar face greeted them with such excitement, that made Ed's mood turn sour. "Good to see you boys!" shouted Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. "What brings you to the capital?"

"We've come to see the new talent." responded Al.

"Ah," said Hughes, his happy mood darkened and Ed noticed.

"What?" he asked.

Hughes smiled, dark thoughts swimming in his mind. "Not to worry Ed, just work related stuff. You two go enjoy yourselves, I must be off to find Mustang." Hughes ran off before either of the boys could ask what was going on of what he wasn't telling them.

"I'm sure it's nothing, if it was important, he would have told us."

Ed and Al continued to make their way to the testing grounds when a figure rushed passed them, shoving Ed almost to the ground.

"Hey, what the hell is your problem?" he shouted as he got to his feet. When he looked up he caught the glance of the person who shoved him. It was a women.

The woman looked at him but said nothing before continuing her rush through the halls.

"I wonder who she is." said Al.

"Why? She's nothing but rude."

"Just because she was in a hurry, doesn't mean she's a rude person. Who knows, maybe she's an alchemist we're destined to meet."

"You keep telling yourself that."

" _Let the demonstration part of the exam begin!_ " came a voice in the distance.

Ed and Al began to run. "Damn, we're going to miss it!!" growled Ed. "Hurry up Al!"

 "This demonstration portion of the exam has changed. Instead of just demonstrating your abilities alone, by orders of the Fuhrer, you will be demonstrating by face off." there were gasped of concerns in the air.

 "A face off?" whispered Ed, not quite believing in what he just heard.

"Each participant will be paired up with one of the our military's skilled alchemist. Your skills will be tested to their limits and when we call time, that is the end of your demonstration exam. Now, prepare yourselves!"

 Each of the testing students lined up and were assigned to a state alchemist. All of whom Ed knew were good but not top of the line good. All were pretty average by military standards but he also knew that none of the testing newcomers knew of that. To them, the alchemist must look like gods. Ed scanned the testers, half of them looked scared and the other half looked over confident. However, there was one who looked neither, she looked collected but still on edge, he would be too if he were in her place. Taking a closer look, he realized that she was the woman who almost knocked him to the ground.

 "It's her!"  said Ed unknowingly.

"Who brother?"

"That woman who shoved me! She's a participant!"

Al looked out among the lot, she was towards the middle and the only woman competing.

"She's the only woman out there." said Al in awe.

"She's got guts I'll tell you that, but I don't know if she'll be able to hold her ground against these alchemist. I mean I know they're no top of the line, but still, they're second best."

"You shouldn't judge a person by their gender or their appearance. Who knows, maybe she'll even show you or Mustang up."

 Ed chuckled unconvinced but said nothing more and waited for her to be the next one up. So far only two of the first five people passed, another four quit. There was only the woman and another man who looked shaken by the intensity of the pass fights. Ed studied the woman, she still had that collected look on her face, but somehow her features seemed more intense and clear than on edge. He took her appearance in, not only her demeanor, but also her full appearance. He noticed the long flow of her loose curled dark hair cascade down the front of her, her black tank top and navy pants. She looked ready for combat but at the same time elegant.

"Oksana Steel!" she heard her name shouted by the overseer. It was her time, her time to show everything she has. It all counted on this moment; she had already passed the written portion but if she failed this it would all be over and she couldn't have that. She had too much at stake to fail, all she ever thought she was and all she believed she stood for would all be for nothing if she falls. She stepped forward and examined the state alchemist before her. He looked strong and well prepared. His face gave nothing of how he felt away, he looked as cold as stone. She readied herself for the fight when a man with onyx eyes held up his hand to the overseer.

"I will take his place." he said with a small smile.

The state alchemist before her stood straight and saluted to the man before moving aside. The man with the onyx eyes step in his place and the fight began. Oksana barely had a moment to think of her move when a burst of flame came straight for her. She dodged it, but only by a small percentage. Part of her right arm was burned by the flame but she couldn't attend to it now, the wound would have to wait. More flame came at her, all she could do to retain her ground was dodge, he didn't even give her a chance to counter his alchemy, he just kept coming relentlessly.

"Well come on, show us why out of all the participants why you should become a state alchemist!" he roared to her over his destructive flames.

Oksana, sick of his relentlessness stopped dead in her tracks as a hurl of bright red flames came at her. She heard cries from the watching bystanders that she's crazy or that she has a death wish, but she didn't move. He wanted her to show what she had, well she was ready to give the Flame Alchemist a taste. The flames hurled faster towards her, it was only a matter of seconds before they would engulf her. Gasps filled the air, as the flames took her in. Everyone waited to see the damage that lied between the flames. As they dissipated, the air was dead silent. Oksana, down on one knee with her left hand thrust to the concrete ground below her, was encircled by a sphere of transparent silver. She heard whispers of disbelief and awe around her, she looked up to the Flame Alchemist, his face was in shock. She took this moment of distraction to make her move. She twisted her hand to the right on the ground, making the sphere disappear and reappear into moving liquid silver. The whips of silver plunged into the ground, breaking it all apart before going in so deep that the ground only made a slight hum. Everyone waited to see what would happen next, the man with the onyx eyes snapped out of his shock and realized what was happening and went in for the attack. He ran from his currently location, trying to anticipated where her next attack would come from, he knew that the liquid silver would not stay hidden for long and that if he was to have a chance, he must act now. One after another, he sent flames her way causing ultimate destruction to the surrounding area. Bystanders rushed out of the way as flames were redirected their way as Oksana used her right hand to deflect his attacks.

Roy, realizing he needed a new tactic, diminished his flames. He took a moment to think, a moment he didn't have. The humming of the ground became louder and the ground made a slight rumble. He knew her attack was coming, he only needed to figure out when and break that part of her alchemy, giving him time to come up with a new strategy of attack. As a strategy began to form, all was too late, the floor shook with violence and began to crack. Suddenly, pillars of alive silver liquid thrust high into the sky. The shaking and humming stopped, but only for a second before, in a rush, came hurdling down like spiked water on top of him. There was no way to dodge it, the ground was too pulled up to run on and his flame could do nothing to help him. He stood there with his pride and waited for the final blow.


	2. The Results

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any grammar/spelling errors in this chapter and in the first. And also, since my co-author is not a member of this site, her name is Chi Tsubasa.

As the silver liquid came tumbling down on the man, a cloud of smoke filled the air. Coughs were everywhere. People rubbed their eyes to see what happened, what the final result was. As the smoke cleared, there was Edward Elric right in the middle of the battlefield. All eyes went to the location of Roy Mustang, he was still standing. Above him was a huge metal roof with spikes of silver embedded into it. Ed rose from the ground having been satisfied with his work in saving his superior, even if the roof was mediocre and the spikes nearly touch the ground and Roy. But he saved his life, that's all that counts and he wasn't going to let the lieutenant colonel forget about that. He spun on his heels, he anger flared at the velocity of the battle. How can that woman think she could take out the colonel? Did she really think he or anyone of the military wouldn't step in before it got to the brink? He ran at her at full speed. She rose from her stance, her face exhausted but void of any feeling. That made Ed angry, how could she not show any remorse for almost eliminating the colonel.  

"Who do you think you are?" he screamed from the top of his lungs as he put all of his weight into shoving her to the ground. His body slammed hard into her middle, knocking the air from her. She fell to the ground flat on her back. "Who gives you the right to try to kill someone of the military! The very military you're trying for!"

Ed grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her in close for a punch to the face when a dark shadow loomed over him, grabbing him from under his arms and pulling him away.

"Stop it brother! You can't hit a girl!" said a child in a frantic voice.

"Let me go Al! I don't care if she's a girl, she tried to murder someone!"

"That's where you're wrong Fullmetal." came the steady voice of a man.

Ed's body stopped jolting around, he looked at the man square in the face, his anger still alive. "What do you mean?"

"Look," said the man pointing above Roy.

Ed and Al turned to look. Their eyes went wide, the spikes of silver were turning to falling ash.

"Roy was never in any real danger. You see, every participant knew the rules of this demonstration before we allowed any of them onto the field. The number one rule was not to in anyway jeopardize the lives of any involved or on the sidelines. Yes, Miss Steel took it to its very limits, but the colonel wouldn't have been harmed. He might have thought he was going to but it was all perception."

"But it's good to know, if I were in any real danger, you Fullmetal, would come to my aid. Thank you Hughes for that elaborate explanation." said a familiar voice as he approached the lot of them.

Hughes blushed and apologized if it wasn't elaborate enough.

Ed looked up into his onyx eyes, a sly smile was on his face. Ed's frown deepened and Al released him from his metal grip. Ed turned away from the smug colonel and to the woman who sat on the floor with her knees up and her arms resting on the tops of them. "I'm sorry." he said reluctantly.

The woman looked up, her face exhausted from the heat of battle, she gave him a small smile before getting to her feet. Her exhausted look was replaced with one of collection, a face he'd seen before the face off began. 

"It time for the interviews." announced Roy before leading everyone away. He turned back to Ed, "Oh, clean up a little would you?"

Ed started to run toward him saying let me at him as Al grabbed him once more and held him back.

Oksana was lead down several corridors before they reached the one they needed. Long before she arrived before the door, the Colonel and the man named Hughes went their separate ways. She wondered if the colonel would be a part of her interview. The doors to the room opened. Inside it was dark, when a bright light flash on, lighting up the center of the room. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she noticed a three legged chair standing perfectly straight up.

"If you possess the gift of alchemy, you should be able to sit upon this chair without falling." said a booming voice.

Oksana, hesitant at first, walked up slowly to the chair and sat down a bit nervous she would fall. She held her breath until her bottom was firmly in the seat, only when she knew it supported her did she let go.

"Why do you want to become a state alchemist?" said the voice again.

She couldn't see the person or any others in the dark room. But she felt their eyes. She knew she wasn't alone. Tired and fatigue from the day's events all she wanted to do was sleep. Her mind wouldn't work straight and she had to force herself to think of what she had prepared days, even years before to say.  She took a deep breath, she couldn't allow her physical and emotional fatigue get in the way. She was so close to her goal, she had to pull through.

"I wish to become a state alchemist  because I believe it is my duty to help those who need it. Because it has been my goal and dream to work for this military since I was a child. And because I owe it to my parents who served this military until their deaths; Emma and Viktor Steel. If I do not achieve my goal today, I will continue to strive for it. I will work harder and perfect my skills as an alchemist so that I can then be accepted as one of this military. I am a state alchemist at heart, and only you before me today, can make that a true reality."

Roy, in the background, listening in on the interview smiled at her answer. Though it was heartwarming, he knew there was more to why she decided to take the path of becoming a state alchemist. The Steel family always had more than what they told. He thought her clever, if not intelligent, in her answer. The others would believe her tale of honoring her deceased parents without question, but having been on the job for so many years and knowing the Steels and their work personally and by gathered information, he knew better than to not question this woman's private agenda. He would find out the answers to his many questions in time. He only listened as far as her acceptance and after the interview had ended, he felt the other participants didn't need his attention. He saw what they could do and they were average at best. He left the interview room to the rest who would decide the others futures, if any, within the military.

Hughes leaned back against a wall, watching his friend Roy leave the room. He had listened intensely to every word she had said. Oksana Steel, daughter of State Alchemists, was here in Central at last. Although he truly wanted to believed that she wanted to join in the honor of her parents memories, he knew there was more to it. _'She's so close to all of these secrets that surround her life, and yet so far from the answers I don't doubt she seeks.'_ he thought to himself as he pushed away from the wall and left in search of his friend.

Roy found himself outside, the sun setting in the west. The day had gone by so fast but it had its usefulness. He smiled to himself as he remembered his part in it. A woman had gotten the best of him, he had underestimated her skill and education within alchemy. He never imagined her skills would be so strong yet so unstable. It was like no other alchemy he had ever seen. But the worst part of it all was the fact that a child and none other than Edward Elric, had to come save the day as if his life were really in jeopardy. 

"Boy, how I have lost my touch." he whispered to himself.

"I think it's more, someone is better than you." stated Hughes firmly as he crept up behind Roy.

Roy fell back a step as his heart jumped from the unexpected visit of his old friend Maes Hughes. "That's one way to give someone a heart attack." 

"If I could give you a heart attack, you'd be long gone by now." he said jokingly.

Roy smiled at his friends humor. It lightened up the mood but didn't erase the tense feeling of everything that had happened.

"What do you think of the Steel woman?"

Roy turned to his friend, coming face to face with a man who looked rather calm than concerned that the Steel woman had finally surfaced. "She seems highly skilled but unstable in using her alchemy. She uses a technique that's unfamiliar to me. But overall she seems in good shape. And she happens to be very attractive, I wouldn't mind getting knock off my feet by her again." he chuckled, but his friend didn't.

"That's not what I meant."

Roy's smile faded. He knew all too well what he meant. The surfacing of the Steel's only child could become a potential hazard for the military. There were things that need to be kept under wraps. But if any speculation or rumor reaches the Steel woman's ear, it could all fall apart. 

"We have it all under control. You shouldn't worry yourself with unpresidential matters Hughes, it's not your style."

All conversation ended when the Steel woman appeared feet from them. She was standing there in a black trench coat swinging her new state alchemist watch round and round and occasionally catching the watch in her hand before swinging it around again. The other participants came flowing out after her. Most, if not all of them had long faces, they hadn't made the cut. Roy knew that the majority wouldn't.

"Brother look! It's that woman!"

Roy scouted the area and noticed the two Elric brothers roaming the area. They took an interest in the woman, he wondered why and thought that their interest might come in handy in the future.

Ed turned in the direction his brother pointed. It was indeed the woman. As he watched her come down the stairs, as one of the men that had tested with her zoomed right past her, making her hair flutter in the air. The man came running down the stairs into the arms of who could only be his parents. Ed nearly laughed at the sight. The man was flaunting his new accessory and gloated at how he was the best out of everyone as he showed them all one by one the silver watch. 

Oksana walked down the last of the steps and headed straight in their direction. Al and Ed stiffened, they didn't know whether she saw them and recognized Ed or just happened to be taking that path. The distance between them closed. Ed looked into the woman's face, it was cool and blank. He hoped that she would just pass them by and not notice he was the one who knocked her on her back. As he thought about the alternative, he feared that what he had thought almost happened to the colonel would happen to him. A cold shiver ran down his back as he inched slowly behind his armored brother's back.

"What are you doing?" asked Al unsure of what was going on.

"Keep quiet, she might hear our voices."

"Get away from me! I'm not going down with you!" screamed Al.

"Shut up!" Ed screeched as he began pushing his brother in another direction but Al wouldn't budge.

"Own up to your actions brother! It's not my fault you hit a lady."

The world seemed to stop as the woman passed them. Ed released a breath of relief when she didn't seem to notice them. But all was too soon, the woman stopped fast, barely a half a foot away from them when she slightly turned to him and said "Thanks for not punching my face."

"No problem, sorry about that." Ed rush to say, relieved it didn't turn ugly.

"Or I'd have to break some limbs." she gave him eyes of daggers before turning back to her path.

She hadn't move more than a few steps when the colonel and Hughes made an appearance, calling after her.

"Miss Steel, will you wait a moment?" asked colonel in his usual cool and manner of authority.

"Why are you calling her back this way!" whispered Ed harshly.

The colonel smirked. "Maybe you should learn not to hit women and you wouldn't have this problem." he said with a wicked smiled.

Ed turned to leave and took Al with him but the colonel stopped them from even making a move.  "You can stay Fullmetal. I still need to speak with you." Ed flinched but stayed where he was. He knew that he was going to get into trouble for his last mission. But it wasn't his fault that some idiot had decided to blow up a bar! Ed did was he did in order to save lives... though the bar and its surrounding buildings were never going to look the same again.  Ed opened his mouth ready to protest but the colonel taunted proudly 'Colonel's orders'. His mouth hung there wide open and Roy laughed at him stupidly. Ed closed his mouth and mumbled under his breath in rage as he folded his arms and stuck to the shadows as the woman reproached them. He would get the colonel back for his provoking. After all he should at least appreciate his effort for even remotely thinking to save his hide.

 "I see you've passed the exam." said Roy as she came to a halt before them.

"Yes," she started, her voice smooth and full of warmth. "though I must say, to go up against the Flame Alchemist himself was quite an honor I wasn't expecting."

A small knowing laugh escaped his throat. He knew she would have known his identity, she might have even known it before he came up against her. He began to wonder what else she knew. No one had heard anything about the Steel's or their daughter for years until just a few weeks ago when a letter came in stating she was to take part in the exams. That's when alarm began to rise but not to the degree he believed it should be. He guessed, the higher ups thought that some girl that just happened to be a Steel wasn't at all a threat. But any Steel working for the military posed a threat, a threat they couldn't again afford.

"So how many of you passed the test?" he decided to keep it casual. There was no need to rise her suspicion, if there was any.

 "Three." she said plainly.

Roy thought it a bit hard to depict her character, her expression was so collected and void of anything that lie beneath it. He wanted to know what was under her coolness, he wanted to know what Steel traits she inherited.

"Three." he said. "Who are they?"

The Steel woman searched the area. She pointed to the man walking away with his family. "He is one." she pronounced. She searched again, but didn't find what she looked for. "There is one other, a girl. Seems though, she is sticking to the shadows." she look one last look around seeming unsatisfied she couldn't find her last target. "There," she pointed to the top of the stairs. Everyone looked up and waited only a hair's breath before the final participant stood on the top stairs. Her long, unruly raven's wing black hair blew around her slightly tanned skin in the mild wind. Bright green eyes flashed around at all the people below her. She wore black military pants, black boots, white gloves, a green flowing shirt and a yellow and white jacket.

Ed's eyes widened slightly at the scene, a name was whispered from his lips, "Scar."

Al, being the only one who heard, took a closer looked at the girl. "It's just the jacket brother. It's probably commonly found. Please don't cause any trouble brother." Ed nodded at the ground and watched the girl begin to walk down the steps with low eyes. "I don't see her watch anywhere brother."

"If she passed, where's her watch?" asked Ed suspiciously.

Ed looked away from the girl and up at the colonel and the woman. They were engrossed in conversation about her new situation. He watched as the girl descended the stairs one by one, her green eyes locked on the colonel and the Steel woman. Ed thought it kind of odd that the girl seemed so unaware of anything else in her path as she kept her eyes on the colonel. She had pushed several people out of her way as if she didn't see them and looked a mix of confusion and apologetic when they scolded her. But her eyes never once left the colonel. As she stepped down from the last step, she came into a full sprint. Shocked, Ed didn't know what to think, all he could do was watch. Before he knew it, the girl was upon them. She pushed Miss Steel aside as she squeezed herself between them and wrapped her arms around the colonel's middle.

"Brother!" she shouted from the top of her lungs. "How I've missed you."

All eyes went to the scene. There, with her arms wrapped tightly around the colonel's middle was the girl with the raven's wing black hair. There was a bright smile on her face and her grip tightened all the more. Roy, shocked by the sudden turn of events, didn't know what to do. This was a situation he was not familiar with and wasn't sure how to go about it the right way. Collecting his thoughts quickly after such an interruption, Roy put his arms between him and the girl and pushed them apart lightly. He looked down at the girl, her bright eyes came up to his. He felt sorry for her, but what else could he do?

"I believe you are mistaken child. My sister has been dead for several years now." there was a look of longing pain in his eyes. It pained him to think of the sister he had so long ago lost. And now that this child before mixed up her real brother for him, brought back the horrible memories he longed to forget.

He let his hands fall from the girl's shoulders and turned his eyes away from her. He couldn't bear to see the confusion or perhaps even her own sadness of her mistake in her face. He moved away from her, he tried to focus his mind to other thoughts, then he remembered that the Steel woman had asked him a question. He looked to her, she was again picking herself up from the ground. He tried to retain his sudden flow of unexpected emotions back. The unforeseen turn of events, made him forget all that filled his head only moments before. With as clear of a voice as he could command, he said, "Major Steel, please meet my lieutenant and I tomorrow in my office at 9:00 a.m. sharp. We will discuss your position." with that said, he took his leave, not even once looking back that the raven's winged haired girl. As suddenly as he left, he was gone out of sight.

"Madam, I can help you find your brother if you'd like." Al turned to see Hughes walking over to the girl. "what's your name?"

She stood up straight and took a deep breath before turning to the man. She raised her arm in a salute. "Sir, the Snow Fire Alchemist reporting for duty. And that is quite alright sir, I will find him on my own."

Hughes blinked, "Hmm alright but please don't go around calling everyone your brother." he joked trying to release some of the tension. It didn't work as he had hoped so he quickly turned the conversation. "It seems you too will be serving under Colonel Mustang." he said pulling out a piece of folded paper from his jacket pocket. "Meet at his office tomorrow at noon. I'll let him know you're coming." Hughes turned to walk down the stairs, feeling now out of place among the group, but stopped part way and looked into the girls now blank eyes. "By the way, where did you get the name from? Most often it's the people or the Colonel who gives an alchemist their name."

"I got it from the people. But to be more direct, I got it in Ishval. Ask around there, people will know of me." Hughes nodded deep in thought about the information he now held; intending to look into this girl before her meeting with Roy the next day. Having said she got her name in Ishval will raise some concern among the higher ups and with Roy, he would have to look into it.

"Oh, do you Miss Steel and Snow Fire have places to stay in central?"

Miss Steel shook her head. "No, I am a nomad. I was going to seek shelter in the surrounding area when the colonel and yourself stopped me."

He looked to the small child. "I have a place to stay." she said without elaborating on where it was she had to stay.

"Well it would be hard for you to find anywhere that's available this late in the day and with all the visitors, it definitely won't be easy." he pondered as he thought of a solution to the problem. Roy would want to keep the woman close until their meeting and whether or not she could be trusted. "I know!" he concluded. "Since the Elric brothers have small room here in the military's facility, you can bunk with them until we can find you a suitable living area."

"What!" protested Ed. "You can't be serious. I mean, well, she's a girl!"

Hughes looked at Ed with a slight disapproving, but humorous look. "Well Ed, it should be payment enough for hitting her. I mean, it's the least you could do. She could be injured from your blow right now as we speak and you want to turn her away?"

"I think it's an excellent idea!" shouted Al before Ed could say anymore that would make his and this situation worse. Ed made a face at Al, but Al just ignored him and told lieutenant colonel Hughes that they would love to have Miss Steel stay with them while they were in central.

Hughes once more put his attention to the lady. "If it's alright with you of course." he said gently.

Oksana could see the anxiety on the man's face. She knew he wanted her to say yes. And she wasn't hesitant to. The blonde boy did owe her for knocking her on her back. She placed her hand over her middle and felt it starting to bruise. The kid was small but him hitting her felt like a hunk of metal was shot at her. The man named Hughes noticed her gesture and hurriedly turned to the boy and said "See! You injured her". She knew he was in desperate need to lighten the tension that flowed in the air around them. With the raven haired girl pulling a stunt on their superior like she did, it caused the scene to become awkward, and Hughes was trying to eliminate that. But she also accepted the man's offer because she wanted to figure out why he and the colonel were acting so mysterious and occasionally made eye contact with almost every word that escaped her lips. They suspected something, but she didn't yet know what. And being within the same room as the two boys, who seemed to have an intimate relationship with the colonel and Hughes, it seemed the perfect opportunity to get to know her new superiors.

"So it's all settled then. Miss Steel will stay with you two until we can find her a place to live on her own." she heard Hughes say. "Hey, where did Snow Fire go?" he mentioned as he began to look around.

Oksana then realized that the raven haired girl and disappeared. No one had even realized she had gone off on her own, probably to wherever she said she had a place to stay. Oksana found the girl interesting. She wasn't all that impressive on the exams and then pulls a prank, she wondered how and why. She planned on keeping tabs on the girl until her curiosity was laid to rest.

"Why don't you two be gentlemen and show the young woman to her new home?" he said with a smile. He turned to walked in the direction his friend had disappeared into only moments before. "Oh and Ed," he said happily behind him as he walked. "Don't forget to visit Gracia and Elicia, they're both dying to see you."

"Will do Lieutenant Colonel!"

The blonde boy turned to Oksana, his fear of her seeping in again. "I guess you're staying with us." he said clumsily.

"Yes, it will be an honor to have you as our guest." announced Al cheerfully. "I'm Alphonse Elric and this is my brother Edward Elric."

Oksana looked at the big hunk of armor up and down. "Why are you wearing a suit?" she asked questionably.

"Uh," he said frantically.

"He's a very fragile person, he needs as much protection as he can get." Ed jumped in to save the day.

"Yeah, right." was all Al said before accepting his brother's mediocre answer to his situation.

Oksana knew that wasn't the truth but didn't press the issue. It didn't really matter to her why the kid was in a suit of armor. "I'm Oksana." she said as she began to walk.

Ed and Al ran to catch up. "What's the rush?" he said.

Oksana kept her eyes ahead. All she wanted was to lay down. She could feel the fatigue of all that has happened to her, physically and emotionally, and she was exhausted. "I'm tired." she replied as she again walked up the mountain of stairs of the military building. "Would you show me where I am to live?"

Ed and Al lead her through the zigzags of halls and through the living department. They finally reached a door that lead into their cramped living space. Oksana immediately tossed her bag on the wood floor next to the sofa off to the side of the room. After, she threw off her coat and laid herself down on the sofa. She could feel the two boy's eyes on her as she kicked off her boots and placed her arms behind her head.

"What?" she asked, her voice hinting a bit of annoyance.

"You're going to sleep in that?" they hinted to her stiff navy pants and form fitting tank top.

She gave the two boys a smile of seduction. "I can't exactly change while you two are in the room can I?" She said with all the sarcasm she could. 

She could see the redness of Ed's face as he and Al retreated out of the room. Oksana smiled to herself as they left. They were frightened by her. She guessed it was partly her fault. She wasn't very good at meeting strangers and she has been pushing their buttons. Oksana slipped out of her pants and shirt and replaced it with a deep red night gown that looked almost like evening attire. She gathered her mass of loose curled black hair and tied it into a neat bun. She laid herself back down on the sofa, closing her eyes as she told the boys to come back in. She heard the door creak open and the shuffling of their feet. She could also feel tension rise. She opened one of her eyes and took them both in. They both were sitting on their beds with their heads down. Ed was as red as an apple. She laughed a little. "Nothing to be embarrassed about."

Ed's head sunk in deeper. "I'm not embarrassed." he mumbled under his breath.

Oksana closed her eyes again and soaked in the silence. But it wasn't long until Ed gathered up the courage to speak.

"So, um Oksana, how are you able to do alchemy without a transmutation circle?"

Keeping her eyes closed, she took in a deep breath. Something she shouldn't have done, it sent a sharp stinging pain through her body from the blonde boy's blow. "My father and mother had devoted their whole lives to create a new technique to use alchemy. They combined several different transmutation circles to make a single one. After their deaths, I studied their work and eventually tattooed two of the circled onto my wrists in invisible ink."

"So you're not doing alchemy without a circle." he sounded disappointed.

"Yes, but I give off the illusion that I am."

"That's lying!" he cried.

"Brother!" Al screeched.

Oksana smiled. "It's all perception Edward."

Ed folded his arms, any embarrassment he felt gone by the heat of annoyance. "And how do you use that silver liquid stuff?"

"This?" she lifted her hand midair and called her alchemy forward. A small floating sliver sphere appeared above her fingers. She could feel his annoyance of her show off but didn't quit. He had asked her a question and she was prepared to make him understand the full of it. "These circles on my wrist give me the ability to use two elements; iridium and osmium. I can use both separately and together. When together, it is known as osmiridium. Both elements are brittle and hard and silver in color. When mixed in with mercury, or quicksilver, my circles turn it into a moving metal that is hard, yet brittle, but alive."

"You said two elements." he proclaimed. Having seemed to find a flaw in her telling.

"I wasn't finished." Oksana spat. "When I first encountered alchemy, I was taught by a man who didn't use a regular form of alchemy. He bypassed that of equivalent exchange and all known rules of alchemy."

"Who is this man?" he asked unmoved.

"My father."

"Sorry to break it to you, but your father was a kook. There is no way to bypass the rule of equivalent exchange." he said confidently as he tossed his body down onto his bed and rested his head in his hands. "Take human transmutations for example, not one single attempt has ever been successful. It isn't possible."

"Just because a few alchemist aren't able enough or have the knowledge to, doesn't make something impossible. Without the work of my father, I would have never been able to become the alchemist I am. Believe what you will Edward, but it is possible."

Ed grunted that he was firm in his beliefs. He slowly drifted into a sleep, pondering on the new information at his hand.

"Where is your parents now Oksana?" asked Al. He didn't bother to bud into the conversation, he felt he should just sit back and listen to what each had to say. He knew his brother would want to challenge her as a person, an alchemist, and her knowledge. "I mean, wouldn't they have liked to be here in your celebration of becoming a state alchemist?"

Oksana turned on her side, facing away from the two boy's beds. "My parents died a long time ago Alphonse."

"Oh," she could hear the sadness and regret in his voice. "How did they die, if you don't mind me asking."

"In an explosion." she said as a tear rolled down her face.

 


	3. The Meeting and the Lost Flame

Her green eyes watched the ground as she walked the streets of central. Her thoughts were clouded by her brother's unrecognition of her. How could he not realize it was her? Didn't he remember her? He thought she was dead. She sighed in hurt and frustration as she approached the hide out of the Ishvalan refugees. She looked around to see if the coast was clear as she always did before entering. She didn't want intruders to find them. When she was sure all was clear, she entered the darkness beneath the city.

"Freya." she heard a low voice call. She immediately recognized the voice calling out to her.

"Where were you today?"

Freya took a deep breath, "I went to take the tests... I passed and I'm now a State Alchemist. Are you going to kill me too?"

A pair of large but gentle arms wrapped around Freya's shoulders, a chin resting on the top of her head. Freya slowly started to lose control of her emotions, silent tears running down her face. "No Frey, I could never kill you." Freya turned, looking up at the man that had become her father. He looked just like most Ishvalans with his dark skin, red eyes and white hair. He kept his hair shaved on both sides as well as the back, leaving the top alone. He was quite a large man and the top of Freya's head hardly reached his armpits. He wore his customary loose white shirt and black pants with a white stripe down the left leg and a cross on the other. His boots, jacket and glasses must have been left in their tent.

Freya looked at his right arm, the scars and tattoo that covered it before looking back up at the x shaped scar on his face. "Really? Although I've known you for about 8 years that doesn't change how I know you Ishvalans feel about Alchemy. To add to that you've been going around attacking, if not killing State Alchemists, Scar!"

 Scar sighed before stepping back, letting her go. "I've told you before that if I were going to kill you for your alchemy, I would have left you somewhere once I found about it, and I would be a hypocrite as well. Anyways, you really think that any of the refugees care about that? They were the ones to give you your name and they know that before the Military your loyalty goes to me first."

Freya smiled slightly before taking his hand and leaned against him, guiding him to their tent. "Of course, "Be Thou For The People." Maybe now we can find you what you need." The rest of the walk was in silence. No one was out. The people at this camp didn't come out often and wouldn't be there for much longer. Central didn't like the refugee camps being so close, even the nomadic ones. Entering the tent the two did their usual routine to get ready for bed before laying down on the two cots.

"Did you find him?"

Freya turned on her side "No, I didn't find Roy." One final tear fell as she closed her eyes.

The day dawned brightly as five people awake from their beds: one went about preparing to leave; two were having an argument about drinking milk; while the final two laid in their beds each contemplating what the day ahead of them would bring. "Well, time to face the music."

* * *

 

The morning was a hazy one as Hughes walked down the hallway toward his friend's office. A lot burdened his mind, most of which related to events and conversations of the last weeks. But what boggled his thoughts the most was a conversation he overheard last night. A conversation he was about to relay to Roy Mustang, a lieutenant colonel of the Amestrian State Military and state alchemist. He approached the door. He laid his hand upon the doorknob and prepared himself.

"Good morning!" he announced as he barged into the room with the biggest smile on his face. "Isn't today the brightest of days?"

"What are you going on about?" said Roy plainly without looking up from the papers on his desk.

Hughes made his way to the front of the desk, bending down to eye level to make sure Roy saw his happy face. "I mean," he whispered seriously as he reached into his jacket. "Just look at this face!" he shoved a picture of his daughter Elicia into the colonel's face. Roy's brows went down low, his mouth curled into an angry frown. He grabbed the picture right from Hughes' hands.

"I don't have time for this!" he shouted.

Hughes cried that the colonel was crushing his daughter and demanded he apologize. Roy sat back down in his chair and tossed the picture across his desk forcibly. "If you have nothing important to say, then you should go finish the paperwork on your desk!"

Hughes stood up and shrugged. "I have all the time in the world to get that done. It would eventually disappear." he smiled.

Roy leaned back in his seat and sighed. He wasn't going to get anywhere. "Is there something you wanted or is this a 'friendly' visit?"

The seriousness returned to Hughes face. The time for humor was up and now it was time to get down to business. Hughes grabbed a chair from the side and put it close to the desk before taking a seat. "Where's your lieutenant?" he asked.

"Out." replied Roy hardly.

Hughes nodded. "It's about the Steel woman."

Roy's eyebrow rose in curiosity. His friend had been digging as was the reason for his job description; investigations. "So what is it?"

Hughes tilted his chair back and brought every detail of the conversation to the front of his mind. "I overheard a conversation she and the Elric brothers had last night."

"Go on." said Roy, his interest peeking. He knew the Elric brother's interest in her would come in handy.

Hughes relayed everything to the last detail. To how she learned alchemy, how her alchemy works, and the most important fact that she believed her parents were killed in an explosion.

Roy leaned back and placed his feet on his desk, crossing his legs and placing his hands behind his head as he took in all the details of Hughes' encounter.

"Huh," he said with a laugh. "So she appears to know nothing of what actually happened in Ishval."

"Appears so."

"But that doesn't mean she can't be lying. After all, why would she tell anyone her true agenda or knowledge of events. Especially to a couple of immature boys."

"So you're still going to keep an eye on her."

"There was never a plan to stop. She is still a Steel and just because she plays ignorant, doesn't mean that's just cause to turn a blind eye."

A knock came at the door, both men looked towards it and told whoever was on the other side to come in.

"Found her looking for you lieutenant colonel." said Hawkeye as she walked in and behind her followed the very woman he and Hughes were speaking of only a moment before.

They took her in. She was dressed in her usual attire, black shirt, boots, and coat with navy pants. Her face looked well rested but still devoid of any feeling.

"Right on time Steel." said Roy as he looked at the clock. It had barely hit nine o'clock.

"Good morning sir." she said, her voice still had its warmth to it, softening her cool appearance.

"Well I'll leave it to you Roy." said Hughes as he got up and walked to the door. He gave Oksana a blank stare from the corner of his eye as he passed her and walked out of the room.

"Take a seat."

Oksana took the seat Hughes had been sitting in. She looked to Hawkeye then to the colonel. She felt uncomfortable and felt as if the two were watching her like hawks waiting for a prey. "You wanted to discuss my position." she said breaking the ice.

"Yes." replied Roy as he placed his feet on the ground and sat forward in his chair.

"Your first mission will to be to accompany the Elric's."

"The Elric's sir?" she said seeming not to understand why they would need a babysitter.

"Yes, keep an eye on them. They seem to get into trouble every time they leave my office." he recalled the bar incident of their latest mission. He twitched as he recalled the amount of damage they did and the high bill that was sent directly to him from the bar's owner.

"But sir, I am very capable handling my own missions. I'm not some children who play military's babysitter."

"An order is an order Silver Alchemist." he said as he looked at her from the papers on his desk.

"Silver Alchemist?" she said.

"Yes. That is from now on your alchemist name. If you have a problem with it, deal with it."

Oksana's lips turned into a fine line, his attitude was beginning to irritate her. "No problem." she liked the name and she figured he only named her that because of the color her alchemy appears in and of course, he probably couldn't come up with anything better.

"Is that all sir?" she said with slow sarcasm.

Roy smiled at her challenge. She was witty and obviously knew how to play the field. "No, you can go."

Oksana got up to leave. "And please tell Fullmetal to come see me. I still need to have that talk with him." he said with so much intensity that Oksana thought that whatever the boy did, sure put the colonel into a fret.

"Fine." she couldn't believe she ended up turning into a messenger boy her first day on the job and to be some kids babysitter as well. She began to form a dislike toward her new superior, he was aloof.

 

Ed barged into the office, ignoring the glare that he received from both Hawkeye and Roy. Al followed him slowly after, bowing in apology as he did so. "That's it Mustang! I'm tired of you having people follow us around all of the time!" Ed marched forward and slammed his hands onto Roy's desk. "Just because you think you're so much better than the rest of us doesn't make it so."

Roy raised an eyebrow as he leaned back in his chair. "First off Fullmetal, I am, that's just a fact. I'm in a higher position than you and have the right to do what I want." Roy smirked as Ed understood the double meaning, Roy was taller than he. "Second, this is my office so please don't go around yelling. Lastly I'm not sending anyone else to follow you anymore."

"You have no..." Ed's eyebrows furrowed, "wait what?"

"I'm not sending anyone else to follow you."

Ed blinked a few time as he looked at Al. Al shrugged his shoulders, he didn't understand what was going on either. "Okay then you have our report, we'll see you later."

Roy waited until the brothers were at the door before he spoke again. "Actually Elric, we have to talk about that. You see I got a funny piece of paper the other day saying that _I_ owe quite a bit for you destroying a bar and a few surrounding buildings." Ed halted in his tracks, not daring to turn around so see Roy's face. "Expect a shortage in your 'research funds' for a while until this is all paid up. You see, I'm not going let you get away with this one so easily. But because it was the fault of an alchemist as well, the funds will not come completely out of your pocket." Roy turned his chair around and stood up, walking over to the window and looking out. "Oh, and you'll be teaming up with Steel until the next report is due."

"Fair enough," said Ed. He knew he wasn't getting out of paying for the damaged he caused. He sighed loudly at how much he'll be losing, 'no more shopping for Winry' he smiled to himself. But then another thought crossed his mind, no more awesome food or places to stay. His head hung low as he thought about how cruel Roy was beginning to seem to him in this punishment. But then his head sprung up in thought. He would make Oksana pay for some things while they were out, after all it was the colonel's choice in her coming with them. He'll just tell her that it was Roy's idea and to get her repayment from him, yeah that would teach him. He opened the door for himself and his brother with a wide smile across his face, but stopped short. "And one more thing before I agree to anything," he said with menace.

"And what's that?" said Roy with suspicion.

"We're taking Snow Fire with us." He walked out of the office and Roy stood spun around, his eyes wide in shock that the Elric brothers would willingly take someone with them, let alone one of their choosing. He didn't know how long he stood there before a knock on his door shook him from his shock.

 

Freya looked around as she walked through the building, people bustling around her. It wasn't all too hard to find the building with Roy's office in it, the real trouble is finding the office in a building of offices. A short man with black hair and glasses walked over to her, his military uniform impeccable. "Pardon me but can I help you?"

"Yes, actually I'm looking for Colonel Mustang's office. I have a meeting with him at noon."

The man nodded, "You must be the Snow Fire Alchemist. I'm Sergeant Major Kain Fuery. I work under the Colonel." The two started to walk off down one of the busier hallways in silence until they came to a large wooden door. "Just go on in, he'll be expecting you." Kain walked off to go and finish his work. Freya took a deep breath and knocked.

"Enter."

Freya opened the door and allowed herself in, shutting it behind her. She was hardly inside for more than a few seconds when she greeted the colonel and saluted. Roy saluted her back in a casual manner before picking up a folder from his desk. "Major Hughes dropped this off this earlier but there's not much in it. Apparently when he asked why, he was told that this was all the information that you had provided." Roy opened the file and slid it to her. Freya looked through the file, even already knowing what was in it: Her title, age, place of birth and reason for joining the military; a need to respect her brother, a warrior of the Ishval War. "You don't seemed all too surprised."

"I'm not sir. In fact, I'm surprised that they couldn't find out anything else about me. I know how hard the military tries to know everything about their lapdogs." She hadn't meant to be rude or snap at him but he wasn't even looking at her. Not once. "Sorry sir, that was out of line. If you wouldn't mind telling me where I'll be located at or what assignment I am being given."

Roy stood up straight and turned back to the window, "Go find the Elric brothers. Your assignment is to remain with them until further notice." He tried to keep his voice steady. This girl reminded him of himself. She insults the military and yet joins it; doesn't stand out too much but at the same time holds a huge presence, and if what her 'other' file said was true she was well known throughout most if not all Ishvalan refugee camps and a few cities nearby them. He could see this girl as what his little sister would have become if she hadn't died in Ishval so many years ago; but his little sister was too much of a cheerful girl back then. Nothing like this distant teenager. He heard the door shut a few seconds later.

Freya marched through the hallways, tears wanting to burn her eyes and fall. She had a job to do. First she needed to find these Elric brothers and then she needed to tell Scar that she would be leaving for a while. They had planned for it since he was leaving somewhere as well, but she still wanted to say goodbye to her father. Freya didn't notice the blonde woman with wide brown eyes take off running down the same hallway that she had just left, her usual calm demeanor gone. "Sir! You won't believe who I just saw. I don't believe who I just saw."

Roy sighed in frustration, "What now?"

"I just saw Freya leave this building. I thought you said that she was dead Roy!" Riza raised her voice in annoyance. She had either just seen the ghost of her childhood friend's sister or the real deal. But she doubted that it was a ghost since the girl was older than she remembered Freya being. "What the hell is going on?"

"What are you talking about Riza? Freya has been dead for eight years, you were there." All formalities were gone now. Now it wasn't boss and employee, it was friend and friend. Both aggravated with the other.

"We never found a body. The only body found was that of a State Alchemist, nothing else." Riza's eyes softened, "I'm surprised to hear you gave up so easily Roy. You and I have been some of the last ones looking. I still have people out there whose only job is to look for her. That girl I just saw, she has your mother's eyes, your unruly black hair, everything about her screams that she's like you. Tell me Roy, how could that not be Freya?"

"Riza, do you hear yourself? You're getting too emotional. You were the second closest to my sister, don't let your imagination run wild because you miss her. I miss her too, but that girl is nothing like my Freya."

Riza sighed in anguish as she back handed Roy as hard as she could. She didn't even say another word before storming out of his office.

 

Freya watched as the blonde woman rushed out of the room from the edge of the hallway, their argument was so loud , everyone could hear it. The woman headed straight for her, everyone in the hall stood there watching her as she continued to walk not giving them a glance. When she turned the corner, she looked down at Freya for a second, giving her apologetic smile with her body slumped. Freya saw water swell in the woman's red eyes as the she walked away from her. She turned her eyes back down the hall toward Roy's office half expecting him to go after the woman but nothing happened. Freya began to feel her own eyes swell with tears. She felt abandoned by her brother's heart-stricken words. And with feeling as she did in that moment ran to comfort herself with Scar before they too would go their separate ways.


	4. The Human Magnet

"He's an idiot," was the first thing out of Scar's mouth as she walked into the camp. Apparently he had heard about the argument between Riza and Roy. Well he might have heard it himself from how loud the two were being. "He can't see what's right before his eyes, that's all on him."

"Like you're one to talk." Freya muttered, "What do you suggest I do, force him to believe me? You're forgetting something though Scar, I forgot him! I lost my memories and I was lucky enough to get them back... if you could call that luck."

"You didn't have a choice though, It was those damn Homunculi. Freya you have a chance to get back the brother I took you from. " Freya opened her mouth to argue. "Don't argue brat, it won't help. I know what I did and I don't regret it, but I do regret you losing the only family you had. Though in all honesty I may just keep you locked up while I get rid of him."

Freya's body became stiff and her voice venomous, "you won't touch him."

Scar raised his arm and ruffled her hair, "no I won't, but I am leaving soon. There's a refugee camp to the north that has been having trouble getting settled, I'm going to head up there to see what I can do. You joining me or what?"

Freya shook her head and shrugged, "I'm meant to join some Elric brothers." Freya watched as her father's face turned cold and his entire body changed from relaxed to almost dangerous. "Do you know them?"

"I do, but I'd prefer not talking about it. Just know that the older of the two is dangerous and strong... but he'll keep you safe." Freya nodded and the two shared a quick hug before Freya headed back to Central and Scar north.

 

To say that the train ride towards West City was quiet would have been an understatement. Al and Ed weren't looking at each other because of a fight that they had gotten into earlier. Al hadn't wanted to pester their two new companions about their lives but Ed didn't seem to want to give up. That had gotten the two into a shouting match lasting nearly an hour. Oksana was staring blanking out the window having ignored the entire thing while Freya was reading a book that Scar had given her on controlling alchemy. "Passengers please be warned that we are stopping in a local town before continuing onto West City due to some mechanical issues, feel free to leave your luggage on the train and please return for an update on departure within the next three hours." The voice on the intercom died down and the group could hear the other passengers in different cabins talking loudly.

It wasn't long before the train stopped and the passengers began to leave. "I'm going to look around, be back here in an hour." with that Ed left the compartment, slamming the door behind him.

Al stood and looked at the two girls, "would you care to join me? I think a walk would help to calm me down." Freya shook her head no, too caught up in her book to really want to go anywhere. Oksana turned her head to look at the giant metal armor before looking back out the window.

"I take that as a no." he said with a sigh. This was going to be a long trip if they couldn't all be friends.

 

Al walked out of the cabin and off the train. He came face to face with a tiny old woman wearing a pink dress and white shawl. "Welcome to Vergessen." she said with a toothless smile.

"Uh, thank you." Al replied a bit unprepared by the greeting.

Al walked away from the train station, leaving the old woman behind as she greeted others who walked off the train. Al wasn't looking for any particular direction to head in. He just wanted to walk, to clear his head and then maybe he and Ed could get passed their differences.

"Huh, what a day." he moaned. "Why can't Ed stop being so nosy? He always wants to get into other people's business when he has no right to be there in the first place."

Al continued his slow pace, heading to nowhere. His thoughts were clouded by his brother, the strangers with them, and their reason for travelling this far out to unknown territory. Everything seemed to be in chaos. He began to wonder if anything he knew or what their search meant made any sense anymore.

"This sucks." he huffed as he kicked a rock.

The rock hit a well. Al looked up, the well was in shambles. His eyes slowly scanned the rest of the area, there were nothing but ruins surrounding him. To him, it looked like a war had happened and left only a ghost town. Fearful, Al wondered where he had walked to. He turned on his heels trying to see if he could see the train station. He knew it couldn't be that far. His eyes searched everywhere for something resembling the station, but all he saw was dust blowing in the wind and only heard the creaking of the old buildings.

"Where am I?" he asked to no one.

Al began to panic, but he knew panicking wouldn't help him find his way back. He had to stay calm and try to remember anything of how he got here. But nothing came to mind, he was so caught up in his own troubled thoughts that he hadn't been aware of what he was doing. All he remembered was walking, never really having anywhere in his line of sight. Then something rattled in the shadows of one of the broken down building. If Al had a body with hair, he knew they would be standing on end. The sound came from the side of him. He slowly eyed its direction without turning his metal head. He searched the shadows for any movement, he hoped it was nothing just a stray cat or dog. But then his eye was met by something that was not at all a cat or dog. It was a pair of hungry looking eyes. Al tensed up, he felt trouble was heading his way. He made a silent prayer that Ed would happen across him and save the day, but it all was wishful thinking. He had wandered so far away from the train, that he wasn't sure if anyone could save him.

The thing in the shadows moved closer into the light. Al without moving, watched as it appeared. The pair of hungry eyes belonged to an old tan man with bushy hair. He was scrawny and had several missing teeth as he smiled at Al. Al's metal legs wanted to break into a run, but where was he going to go? In any direction, it looked like he'd just become more lost. This town of ruins had alleys in every direction, leading into darkness. Al continued to search for a way out, a way to safety. But his fear began to made his thinking hazy. The old man was inching closer and more pairs of eyes began to pop out from the shadows.

"Are you lost?" asked a voice in the shadows. Al didn't answer, he knew they were trying to get him to say yes so that they could do whatever it is they were planning in their minds. Each pair of eyes he met, were hungrier than the last. Not in hunger for food, but in hunger to a kill. Al noticed that most of the eyes belonged to men; some muscular and some not.

"Stay back." he said to the few who ventured out into the light.

"Don't be shy, we just want the suit." said the old man.

"My suit?" said Al not understanding.

"Yes the suit." said another.

"Why?" asked Al.

"We can sell it for parts!" came a weak voice that Al couldn't place.

The men then took out knives and those who didn't have a knife, picked up anything near them that was sharp.

"Come now, be a nice little lad and give us the suit!" said a man before charging for Al.

Al had no time to react. He had no time to draw a circle and use alchemy. All he could do was stand there and try to fend off his attackers. Man after man tried to stab through his armor, none being able to pierce it. Then the scrawny old man jumped onto his back and knocked off his helmet. All movement stopped and the air was filled with shock. The armor was empty.

"It's talking armor!" screamed the old man.

Bypassing the shock, Al's attackers realized what they had on their hands. Talking armor would surely get them some money.

"We can get a fortune!" shouted a bald man who was holding onto Al's leg.

"You can't sell me!" cried Al as he tried to throw the old man and the bald man off of him.

As the two men flew off, the others tried to grab at him, but suddenly Al felt a powerful force pulling him from behind. He picked up his head and looked to see what it was. He didn't see anything, but the force became stronger in its pull. Then his one by one is limbs started to disconnect themselves and few into oblivion behind him. Al was in a state of panic, there was nothing he could do as he watched his limbs detach themselves and disappear.

"What's happening to me!"

The men who had attacked him only moments ago stood there dumbfounded as they watch the big hunk of metal fly away from them. Then, the thing behind the force, showed its face.

 

"Nassor…"the men said as one, their voices cracking.

The only parts of Al's body that was left was his head and his middle. He watched helplessly as the men and the other pair of eyes in the shadows disappear to back where they had come. Right then, Al knew he was in serious trouble.

 

 

Ed dragged his body back onto the train and into the cabin. He threw himself into a seat and closed his eyes.

"How was your walk?" asked Freya, her nose still deep into her book.

Ed opened one of his eyes and looked at the girl. He knew she could care less on how his walk actually went, but he thought he'd answer her anyways. "Good." he said before resuming his previous position. Two hours had passed and the woman on the intercom began to talk.

"The train will again resume its route to West City in thirty minutes."

Oksana got to her feet and shook Ed. Ed groaned at her, she was waking him from a good dream. "Just a few more minutes…" he muttered as he rolled his body to the side. Oksana gritted her teeth, as she rolled Ed's body off the seat, letting him hit the floor with a hard thump.

"Ouch!" he screamed as he got to his knees and comforted a lump that now formed on his head. "What the hell was that for?" he turned to face his attacker with eyes of piercing daggers. Oksana stood there, barely a foot away from him with her arms crossed beneath her breast, her brow up in question.

"What?" he asked getting to his feet to meet her with his piercing eyes. His head didn't even come up to her neck, there were at eye level with her breast. Grasping where his eyes met, he blushed and immediately tilted his head up, looking her square in the face. "What?" he repeated.

Oksana unfolded her arms and leaned her lean frame against the window. "Aren't you concerned about where your brother is?" she asked, her own concern rising.

"Twenty minutes until departure." announced the lady on the intercom.

Ed looked up towards the voice box, his mind still not quite grasping what is happening. Then, a thought occurred to him, he looked to where Al had been sitting only hours before. He still wasn't back.

"Where's Al?" he demanded in a rush of panic.

"He went for a walk just like you." said Freya as she turned a page of her book.

Without saying another word, Ed was out of their sight, on his way to hunt down his brother. 'Damn them!' Ed thought to himself as he ran through the small town around the train station. 'Why didn't they tell me as soon as I got on the train? Al, you better be alright.'

 

"We should go help him." Oksana said as she looked out the window.

"You go do that." said Freya, not at all willing to move from the train. "I'm not going to miss the train."

Oksana looked at the girl. Her nose was still stuck in her book. Right before the girl's eyes, Oksana snatched the book from her hands and held it up high in the air. "Get up and stall the train." she told the girl.

Freya jumped to her feet and demanded her book back. It wasn't her property to take and she demanded it be returned to its owner. Oksana didn't budge, if the book was the only leverage she could use against the girl to get her to help Ed find his brother, then she will gladly hold the book hostage until Al was found. Oksana stuffed the book into her coat and walked out the cabin. She looked at Freya who had a very angry look on her face. "Stall the train." she again told the girl before she ran out of the train doors and in search to find Ed.

 

"Have you seen anyone who looked like this?" asked Ed to every person he passed, showing them a drawing of Al.

Everyone shook their heads that they have not. Ed wasn't going to lose his determination, he had to find his brother. He showed the pictures to everyone but so far all the answers came up no. 'Where are you?' The sun was going down and the time for departure was growing ever nearer. There was no way he's find Al in time. They would have to stay behind.

"That's how you're going to find your brother?" came a warm voice from behind.

Ed spun around and met face to face with Oksana, he frowned. "What are you doing here? You didn't seem all the concerned about Al earlier."

Oksana's lips went into a fine line as she snatched the terrible drawing of Al from Ed's hands. She walked down a ways before holding the pictures up to a woman who wore a pink dress and a white shawl's face, slightly frightening her. "Have you see someone who looks like this?"

The woman took a closer look at the picture and smiled. "Yes." she said.

Ed and Oksana leaned in closer to the woman. "Where?" they asked.

The woman smiled again and pointed to the east. "That way." she said, her toothless smile growing. "Towards the ruins of Vergessen."

 

"Delay the train she says." Freya huffed as she walked towards the back of the train. "Delay the train... how the hell am I supposed to delay a train!..." Freya turned and her foot caught on something, sending her down onto her stomach. As suddenly as a storm of curses came out of her mouth they stopped, replaced instead by en evil grin. Why delay a train when you can stop it all together. She picked up the bag of tools and looked around for anyone watching her, when the coast was clear she quickly crawled under the train and began working. 'Idiots! Who leaves their tools laying around?!'

 

Ed and Oksana turned to each other with eyebrows raised, if they were in Vergessen then how could Al have gone to the ruins of Vergessen. The old lady smiled knowingly, "Children let me tell you a story. Many, many years ago, when I was just a little girl this town was farther east, closer to Central and the south. It was a grand city where alchemists from all over came to learn in our vast library. But due to this, many grew concerned that the knowledge handed out would be used against the military. The library was soon closed down, but many would still come, intent on learning. Over the years fewer alchemist came because of good intent and the military tried to intervene. The city became a warzone between two rogue alchemists and all others. It was destroyed because of the war and few venture there now. We made our home here and built New Vergessen, but many just call it Vergessen."

 

Ed nodded to the old lady and pulled out a coin, "Take this for your troubles." He flipped her the coin and began walking in the direction that she had pointed at. Oksana followed after staying in step with him the whole time. "You know we'll miss our train right?"

Oksana nodded, "there's always a chance of that, but I doubt it."

Ed stopped and turned to her, making sure to keep his head upwards. "How do you figure that? It's supposed to leave in less than ten minutes." Oksana only raised her arm and pointed at someone in front of them. Ed turned to look, "Snow Fire?"

Freya stepped up and grinned, her arms thrown over a crowbar she had behind her neck. She was covered in soot and oil. "You told me to delay the train, so I hope you don't mind waiting a few days for them to put some of those parts back on it." Her face quickly hardened and joined the other two, all starting to run. "So, where are we heading?"

"Vergessen," was the simple reply.

 

The three continued to run, each waiting to get to Al as soon as possible. Ed wanted to get to his little brother, Freya couldn't bear the thought of losing someone who treated her so nicely and still refused to pry into her past, while Oksana on the other hand wasn't as concerned as the other two, in fact she wasn't all too thrilled to even be there, but she couldn't just let Al be put in danger. It took them almost an hour to find their way to the city of ruins. "Spread out and find him." Ed took the front, simply walking into the town while the two girls split directions. The three met again at the center of the city next to a fallen well. "Nothing Ed." Freya leaned against the well and looked down, metal glinted in the darkness... she blinked, "Hey Oksana, Ed can one of you come here? There's something down there."

Ed walked forward, clapped his hands and the ground rose up along with the metal item, a steel foot... "Al."

 

 

"What are you going to do with me?" Al asked as he looked around the tiny space he was in. The only light in the place was a small candle and he knew that his body was in pieces.

"Don't play stupid boy." growled the man. "I know who you are and what you are about."

"What do you mean? I don't even know who you are!"

The man smiled wickedly. "Where are my manners? My name is Nassor Shaw the Magnetic Alchemist."

"You're an alchemist?" Al said in amazement. He then understood how his body flew from him back in the town of ruins.

"It isn't polite not to introduce yourself Fullmetal after I had just done that for you." Nassor had an unpleasant sound in his raspy, yet deep and memorizing voice.

"Fullmetal?" Al asked in surprise. "You have it all wrong, I'm Alphonse Elric, the younger brother to the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Nassor arose from the shadows, his big, muscular body looming in the candlelight. Al could only stare at him from the ground as his head laid on the cold concrete floor. And what Al saw was enough to strike fear in him. The man was built, slightly tan, with long spiked hair that rose up into the air and flared like rays of the sun. His face had a deep scar going diagonal from his right temple to his left cheek bone. But that wasn't all, he also had a ghastly scar that went across his broad neck. He wore the standard military uniform, but with the sleeves rolled up, revealing yet more scars and burns. This man, Al could tell was a man to be feared. A man no one wanted knocking at their door. Al met his eyes, they showed death and doubt.

"Don't lie to me boy."

"I'm not lying!" cried Al. He wished his brother would hurry up and come for him.

Nassor took what Al said with consideration. If what he said was true, and he was the brother to the Fullmetal Alchemist, then he would want to come rescue his sweet little brother. Nassor congratulated himself on the victory that was walking straight to him. He would soon have the Fullmetal Alchemist and then much more. "You sit and enjoy the show boy, I'll be out hunting me a dog of the military."

 

Ed hadn't walked far into the ruined city before reaching the end of it. He was so frustrated, there hadn't been a single sign of Al anywhere. And any of the people that remained in the town all shunned him away when he showed them the picture of Al. He remembered the look in some of their eyes, they were scared, scared of something that lurked within the town. Ed wanted to know what it was, and had asked a few, but no one would tell him and asked him to leave and never return. Walking back into the ruins, Ed took different turns than he had before, hoping that they would lead to somewhere new. And they did. He found himself in front of a huge building, the only building still intact. Ed walked into the building, dust was piled everywhere. He took a look around, the building was majestic. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. It had murals covering the ceiling and shelves that reached higher than he could see. Staircases rose and crossed everywhere above and around him.

"It’s a library." he said, his voice echoing off the walls.

He walked deeper into the building coming across stacks of books that laid on the ground in disarray. Curious, he picked on up and opened it. Dust flew in his face, making him cough. When the dust cleared he could almost see lines drawn on the pages. He pulled the book closer to his face to get a better look, but there was so much dust, that it was almost impossible. He pushed the book away and blew the dust off the pages. As clear as day, he could see that there weren't just lines on the pages but transmutation circles and instructions along the pages side.

"Alchemy."

He closed the book and walked on, he was in a library of alchemy. The very library the old woman spoke of. Entering into the middle of the building, he noticed that it lead off into different hallways. There were four entrances, each was in an arch and lead straight into darkness. Ed decided he would go down each in hope that one of them lead to Al. He took a step, but something was wrong. He felt a pull on his automail. He tried to ignore it and keep moving, but the pull got stronger and stronger.

"What the hell is going on?" he roared. Pain began to fill his body. It felt as if his automail arm and leg were being ripped from him. He screamed in agony and little by little, the metal was disconnecting itself. Ed fell on his stomach, using his left arm to hold himself up.

"Well, well, well look what the cat dragged in." came a voice in the distance. Ed tried to see which hall it came from but the pain was too much. He only got a glance of who headed his way when all went dark.

 

Freya glanced over at Oksana as the two waited for Ed to return. Everyone had gone their own ways to try and find the wayward child and only the two females had returned so far. "Why would we separate if we found evidence that he was here? He's got to be around here somewhere. I mean, you can't just drag someone around easily when they're in a suit of armor."

"It's not about that," Oksana said, glancing around at their surroundings again. The locals had been coming out once and awhile to get a glance at them but quickly retreated before saying or doing anything. "That was just proof that he was in these ruins, not that he still is. For all we know a group of people could have ambushed him and then taken him away." Oksana didn't know how close to the truth she was speaking at the time. Both of the girls were quiet for a while, each making sure that no one got too close to them. "How old are you anyways?" asked Oksana, attempting at casual conversation.

"Almost 16. If what I've heard of the Fullmetal Alchemist then he just barely beat me to being the youngest State Alchemist by a few months."

"Bit young to be joining the military don't you think?"

"That's not what my father says. Anyways, you're one to talk, what are you 19?"

"I'm closer to 30 actually. I was born in 1888."

Again, the conversation went quiet until Oksana stood up straight, her eyes narrowed. Before the two, a man walked out of the darkness, scruffy hair dirty with grime. He looked too thin to be healthy. "Pretty, pretty ladies. You could fetch me quite a bit of pretty gold."

"Slaver!" Freya spat.

"No little one, not a slaver. Just a man without anything to lose."

Oksana raised her hand, her metal coming up in a thin strip. "Don't even think about it. To you we're worth nothing but trouble. But maybe you can help us," she let her alchemy lengthen, letting it touch the man's boney neck. Small blots of blood oozed from the small incision. "Tell us if you've seen someone in a tall suit of armor or a short blond boy about an inch taller than this girl."

Freya's eye twitched, "I'M NOT SHORT YOU GIANT!!!!" Oksana ignored her, not that Freya was surprised. She was starting to think that she was raised from birth to ignore people. It pissed Freya off though and she turned her anger onto the man before them. "You don't start telling us what we want to know and I start breaking bones." Her eyes flared with a fire within.

The man paled and turned to run but Oksana was quicker. She send her metal out, wrapping around one of his legs and pulled him closer to her. When he was a foot away she kicked him onto his back. "Speak or die, your choice."

Apparently the man was smart enough to believe her. He pointed towards a tall building in the distance. "The library. the walking armor was taken to the library! Please, was only going to sell it, I wasn't going to do anything else but then it's head... and Nassor, we didn't stay long to figure out anything else I swear."

Freya sighed, "One guess is, if that's where Al is..."

"It's where Ed is heading." Oksana released the man but kicked him hard in the head, knocking him unconscious. "Come on then, no need to stand around here any longer."

 

Ed, his head groggy, slowly opened his eyes. Everything was a blur, he could barely make out a reddish orange object flickering on the other side of what appeared to be a small room.

"Al?" he called out.

"I'm right here brother."

Ed tried to get up and move towards Al, but as soon as he tried to lift his body off the ground, he collapsed. That's when he noticed, his arm and leg were missing. He looked to Al who was in pieces. "Al!" he screamed.

"Hush now, no need for all the noise and we can't have you try making a run for it now can we?" said the voice he had heard before.

"What do you want with Al?"

The man laughed. "Not with him is what you should be asking, but about yourself."

Ed scooted what was left of his body up against a wall. He lifted his head up to see who he was speaking to. It was a big man with spiked hair and with scars that disturbed him. "What do you want with me." The man smiled, his white teeth glimmering in the candlelight.

"Excellent question Fullmetal, very excellent indeed. You see, you're going to help me in exchange for your brother and his pathetic form of life."

Ed's brow creased in rage, who did this man think he was? "And how am I supposed to help you when you have my arm and leg."

The grin on the man's face grew larger. "Just give me the stone and we can call it a day. What do you say Fullmetal? The stone for the armored boy."

"Stone?" Ed asked puzzled. "What sto--" then he came to the conclusion that the stone the man was referring to was the one and only stone; the Philosopher Stone. Ed smiled to himself in amusement. If this guy really thought he had the stone, then he will surely be disappointed and needed to update his information.

"Sorry to break it to you, but I don't have the stone."

The man shot from his chair on the other side of the room and grabbed a fistful of Ed's black shirt. "Don't play with me boy. I know you have the stone. Now give it to me!"

"What makes you think I have the stone!" Ed spat as he stared at the man back, his anger matching his.

The man let Ed got, he sat back in his chair and leaned forward. "You're the great Fullmetal Alchemist." he exaggerated with gestures of his hands. "In fact, so great that you have forged a philosopher stone."

Ed was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He, create a philosopher stone? Now wouldn't that be a trip. Ed almost laughed as he looked at the man who really seemed to believe he had created a stone.

"Listen, do you really think that I would be out in the middle of nowhere looking for any information on the Philosopher's Stone IF I HAD ONE! I've been searching for that stone so we can get our bodies back. I plan on getting it, but like hell I would ever give someone like you the stone!" Ed leaned back against the wall completely and used his left arm to check the damage done to his right. Most of the metal was gone from the arm but thankfully there wasn't any bleeding. If there was then it had stopped already. When he moved his arm down to his leg he found the same thing. "What did you do with my limbs?"

"He's an alchemist brother!" Al shouted across the way. "It's how he got me like this, he's the Magnetic Alchemist..."

"Nassor Shaw, yeah I've read about him. Control metal, passed the exams at the age of 25, been working in West City for the past 5 years."

"You know of me?" Nassor asked.

"You know of him?" asked Al.

"Course I do. Once I heard that we'd head west I wanted to make sure that I knew about someone who could control metal if ever I had to fight him. Though he is a State Alchemist so I didn't really think I'd have to use that knowledge." Ed smirked at the man, though inside he didn't feel all too brave. His arm and leg had been taken, his brother dismantled, this man knew his and Al secret and they had no way of getting out of here. For once, Ed was actually worried that they may not get out alive.

"Then this makes it all the easier, you'll give me the stone Fullmetal, or you'll make me one." Nassor raised his arm and Ed screamed as the little bit of metal that remained in his arm was twisted by an unseen force. "And you better do it quick or you'll find out what real pain is."

 

Al screamed for Nassor to stop, to leave his brother alone. He couldn't bear to see his only family writhing on the ground in unimaginable pain. Nassor didn't listen, instead focusing on the metal in Ed's leg now, switching between the two so that Ed couldn't get used to the pain at any point. Al's eyes flashed around, looking for something that could get them out of there, something that could stop his brother's pain. "Nassor just stop or you'll have more than us to deal with!" He yelled out.

Nassor did stop at that comment, turning towards the metal head on the ground, "What do you mean?"

"He means..." Ed pushed himself back up into a sitting position, his breathing ragged. "That there's more than just us here."

"You travel together Fullmetal, I know this. There's never others with you unless they're military."

"Oh these girls are military alright. Deadly too. Sent with us by the Fuhrer himself." Ed knew he was lying, Al knew he was lying, but this guy didn't. The worse he made Oksana and Freya the better their chances of survival. "One's a veteran of the war is Ishval, took so many lives that Ishvalans don't mention her anymore. The other is the Fuhrer's personal assassin. Both work directly under the Fuhrer, no other can command them."

"Then why are they with you!?"

"Because brother pissed off the Fuhrer last time we were in Central." Al provided, seeing where his brother was going with this. To think, a couple hours ago they weren't even talking to each other, and now they're spinning lies like no other. "He got tired of brother and I having free reign so he ordered them to go with us."

Ed smirked up at Nassor, his eyes glinting with victory. "I give it minutes until they find where you're hiding us. An hour tops before they're here kicking down doors." Nassor's eyes widened at the thought of these two girls. They could stop his plans altogether, and he couldn't have that. With a final use of his alchemy at Ed he ran out of a nearby door as quick as he could.

"Brother!"

"I'm alright Al, let's just think of a way out of here."

"You know sooner or later, he's going to realize were lying."

Ed chuckled. "As dumb as he is, I doubt he'd figure it out. But to be on the safe side, we should disappear."

 

 

Oksana and Freya walked through the library with the sleeves of their jackets covering their mouths. There was so much dust in the air that it seemed almost impossible to breath. The kept moving, the only times they stopped was to look at the ground to see if Ed had left any footprints they could follow. So far there were none.

"I can hardly see anything!" complained Freya as they went in deeper, the light of day fading into a twilight haze.

"Night is approaching." replied Oksana as she continued to search for footprints.

"We need to find those two fast, or it'll be too dark to see."

"Agreed. Hey," proclaimed Oksana as she pointed to the ground. "I found footprints."

Freya went beside the tall woman and looked down. "Looks like they're heading south of the library."

They walked south, hoping that Ed was somewhere close. The deeper they went, the dimmer the light from the outside got.

"I can’t see anything!" shouted Freya as she bent to the ground to see the footprints.

"Hold on, I think I have something." Oksana took off her trench coat and laid it on a nearby wooden chest. She searched the inside pockets and took out a lighter, two handkerchief, and a knife. She went to one side of the chest and began chopping off a medium sized piece of wood. Once the wood disconnected itself from the chest, she grabbed the handkerchiefs and wrapped them around one side of the wood.

"Snow Fire,"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to retrieve the lighter fluid from the side pocket of my pants."

Freya did want she was told without question. She guessed that with lighter fluid, Oksana had an idea for making light.

"Here." she said as she handed the small bottle to Oksana.

Oksana held the wood away from her body and doused the cloth in the fluid. She then grabbed her lighter lying on her jacket. "Let there be light." she said proudly as she set the cloth aflame. The space immediately filled with an orange glow. The looked for the footprints but there were none.

"Where's they go!" Freya demanded.

Oksana walked away from the chest with her jacket in hand. They were in the middle of a four way corridor in a half circle, each leading down a hallway filled with darkness. Oksana held the flame closer to the ground, hoping to find Ed's footprints leading down one of them, but there were none. "Where the hell could he have gone?" as she continued her search, she began to notice, the dust in certain areas was missing; as if it had been swept away. She turned in circles looking at the ground.

"It looks like there was a struggle here." she told Freya who investigated the area too.

Concern raised within them. Oksana felt an uneasiness in the air. The hairs on her neck stood on end. She felt as if they weren't alone. Then she saw it, a huge sphere of metal flying right for them. Oksana jumped onto Freya, pushing her to the ground. The handmade torch and her jacket flew out of her hands as they landed.

"Why'd you do that for?" Freya wanted an explanation as she rubbed the back of her head. Right then she heard the sphere of metal crash into one of the tall bookshelves. She no longer needed the explanation. Oksana stood on the balls of her feet as she searched the darkness where the sphere came from. She couldn't see anything. The flame from the torch was too far out of reach to bring more light.

"What is it?" asked Freya in a low voice, sensing Oksana's alertness.

"Shh!" Oksana snarled as she listened for any movements in the dark. She could hear what sounded like metal being crushed and compacted. Her brown eyes looked in the direction it came from, seeing nothing beyond a few feet. All she could do was wait. Wait to see what would come their way next. If she could see where the assailant was, they she could attack. But in the dark, it would be useless.

"Why don't we play a little game?" said a raspy, deep voice. It sounded like it came in all directions. That made it harder for Oksana to pinpoint where it was the person was hiding.

"Why don't you stop being a coward and show your face!" she projected, hoping to provoke their unknown stalker.

"That wouldn't be much fun would it? Especially with you both having the upper hand and all."

'Upper hand?' Oksana thought. From where she stood, he had the upper hand on both of them.

"Come on, let's have some entertainment. That’s the only way you'll ever see those precious boys again."

Ed and Al. He had them. That provoked her, her taunts backfired. Oksana, without knowing where this person was decided against her better judgment to attack. She extended her hands to the ground and called forth her alchemy. The ground beneath them began to shake as multiple whip like living silver plunged high into the air, their sharp points destroying the ceiling as they touched it. The whips then scattered into every direction, in search for their intended target. Freya watched as the silver metal hit the ground, pillars, shelves, windows, destroying every single one of them.

A wicked laugh invaded the atmosphere. "Wrong move."

Oksana's eyes light up in understanding as she felt a pull. She tried to release her hold on her alchemy, but it was too late, the magnetic pull had its hold. Oksana looked to Freya. Freya looked into her brown eyes with a frown. She didn't understand what her looked meant, but before she could ask, Oksana, and all the silver metal she had let loose flew into the darkness.

 

"OKSANA!!!!" Freya screamed into the darkness. She leapt over to the fallen makeshift torch and held it before her, trying her hardest to see into the darkness. "Oksana where are you?" Nothing, no sound came from any direction. 'Damn it, now it's only me.' Freya glanced at the fire in her hand, taking in the warmth from the orange glow to keep her calm. At that moment she saw a glint of metal flying towards her. She quickly leapt out of the way but the torch slipped from her grasp and the metal slammed it into a wall, extinguishing the flames.

"Now it's only you left girl. No friends, no light, only the darkness around us and the knowledge that you'll soon be dead... but for an assassin that must not mean much hmm?" The man's voice echoed from all around Freya, her head whipping in all directions to try and pin point it. "You know I've always loved coming here. Although the library hasn't been open for many years that doesn't stop people from coming."

"What's so special about a library?" Freya called out, her voice starting to shake in fear.

"Everything. This library has always given alchemists the illusion of freedom when it comes to their alchemy. But they were wrong, it wasn't freedom, but a transmutation circle built directly under us."

Something in Freya's mind clicked. If they were standing on a transmutation circle then this man was on almost an even level to fight as Ed, freely moving around using his alchemy... but the same worked in her favor as well, but she had another advantage. "You know," Freya swallowed and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, "you know something. I've been afraid of the dark for the past three years."

"Then this must really bother you. But to think, a great assassin, afraid of the dark. What would the Fuhrer say?"

Freya slowly removed her gloves, letting them drop one by one to the ground. "I don't know anything about the Fuhrer, but I just keep telling myself this: I might be afraid of the dark, but I can always make the shadows go away!" Her eyes slammed open as she shoved her hands forward, reaching inside for the fire that always burned deep. A moment later a pure white fire, hotter than anything a human could stand touching burst from around her hands and into the darkness before her. The room lit with the sudden appearance of the bright flames. Freya turned her head towards one of the pathways. "Now you'll know why I'm called the Snow Fire Alchemist."

The man that had previously been concealed in shadows was now very much there. "Nice trick, almost reminds me of the Flame Alchemist Mustang. Always showing off his precious fire tricks."

"Who are you to speak of the Colonel that way?"

"Nassor Shaw of course. And you?"

Freya pulled the fire closer to her and the man, keeping him illuminated as she turned to face him fully. "The Snow Fire Alchemist, Freya Mustang!" When the man's eyes widened slightly she knew that now was her only chance.

"The child who died in Ishval." His words were but whispers.

"I didn't die. I learned, I grew strong, I gained alchemy, and I learned how to kill." Freya released a part of her control on the fire, making sure it stayed where it was but nothing else. She raised her right hand up to her mouth and blew gently onto the palm. With each second her hand began to ice over until the entire hand was covered up to her wrist. Bending the hand into a fist as though there was no ice there, she punched forward sending a storm of snow directly into the man's stomach.

Nassor fell to his knees as he tried to gain the air back into his lungs. He felt so cold inside and yet, the fire around him made his skin crawl with heat. "How... can you control... such forces?"

Freya flinched as her fire started to flicker and her ice cracked. Thankfully the man hadn't seemed to notice. "Because I come from two very different sides of a war. That's the only reason I can give you, and even that is only a guess." She pushed everything she had into the fire to make it surround the man completely. While doing that she built a wall of ice and snow around the other entrances, stopping either of them from going anywhere but down the path that he had come from.

Nassor stood to his feet, breath finally back under his control as he pulled some nearby metal towards him. Using the girl's own fire he heated the ball and sent it flying towards her. As she dodged his attack he continued again and again until finally the fire around him died. In its place were puddles of water and the former ice and snow walls were now walls of red fire. Nassor laughed, "You don't have control do you little Freya?"

"I've never had total control. It's just unlucky for you that my alchemy decided to go haywire instead of not working altogether." Freya rose to her feet and concentrated her hardest on the man before her. Slowly she summoned a small ball of pure red flames into her left hand, tossing it at where Nassor had been she smirked in satisfaction when she saw the flames hit something. Now she released all control over her fire, opting instead to focus on her snow. The walls of fire disappeared. Raising her hands around to her sides, her body temperature dropped dangerously low. Ice coated both of her hands now like gloves. "I hope you like the cold Nassor."

Twin twisters of snow formed on either side of the teenager. "How do you expect to find me if you can't even see me without your fire?" Nassor called, his voice once more echoing around. "You're weak Freya and scared. How can you overcome your fear of the darkness if you can't bring forth your fire?" The twisters grew in size and strength until they were the same size as Freya.

"By knowing that there is always a light in the darkness." Freya shoved the snow twisters into the darkness to her right and heard the scream of pain from her target. Letting go of the ice on her arms Freya called forth a tiny speck of red fire from the darkness where her twisters had gone to, the last remnants of the fire she'd summoned just moments before. Her body screamed at her for using her two alchemies together. "Wherever there is a fire, I will always be able to find it." She whispered into the darkness, her own body going down as she fainted.


End file.
